Twilight Inspired Sunrise
by klaudiakarb
Summary: Kate Burney moves with her family to the country she has been longing for a long time- Australia. Everything is like a beautiful dream… until she faints after one touch of a stranger. She’s left concerned and confused. Who is he!PLS review!
1. Preface

Sunrise

K L A U D I A K A R B O W I A K


	2. Chapter 1

**This the first chapter everybody! It simply is Twilight my way even though I don't think of it in that way^^ Enjoy!**

CHAPTER 1

I was finally moving. After living in rainy England for what seemed as endless six years I was finally moving. My dreams of lounging under the baking hot sun and on the golden beaches were now becoming true.

I was moving into the vicinity of Sydney, Australia. I can remember when I was six, my parents promised to move there but when I was about ten we moved to Britain instead. We lived in a medium sized town called Rotherham. There we lived in one of those old terrace houses numbered with a big, decorative fourteen. The house was nearly one hundred years old- and to be honest it looked like it.

We had a small garden with many flowering plants. We had a bush of full, white roses- they were my favourites. In fact the garden was one of not many things I liked in England. The other thing I liked was the school. Yes, I surely liked school. Most of people called me weird just because I liked it. I bet they would have understood me if they would have ever studied in Poland. It was way more enjoyable and easier to learn in English than in Polish schools.

Poland. Warm for most of the summer and spring. Cold in the winter and some of the autumn. It snowed every Christmas. Why couldn't we have stayed? Oh, of course politics and all that. I can't even begin to express how much I hate politicians for their greed. It's all their fault that I've spent six years in Britain, in dreadful conditions.

I'll always miss my friends from Poland. There's no one to miss from England though. I've spent most of the time in the school library and I didn't make any _true_ friends. I actually somehow didn't want any friends. I guess it's because I was turned down so many times when I tried to make friends with someone. I was always that weird and annoying Kate Burney to them. In Poland I was always liked and everyone said I was beautiful, then in England I was always called ugly. I didn't understand it.

Now as a seventeen year old girl I was moving to a new place and I was hoping that it will be better in Australia than in Britain. I wouldn't be able to stand being an outsider in a place I've always dreamed of.

I felt the plane set it's wheels on the rough, solid route. It was a rather unpleasant sensation that made my stomach flip. Then all of the sudden people started cheering and applauding, I joined with them. I was thankful that the flight was over. I wonder why was I so scared that something bad would happen. Anyway does it matter, we've made it. All four of us. The whole Burney family- my parents, my sister and me, have officially arrived to Australia after a particularly long and boring flight. I slept nearly the whole flight. Two flights actually - from London to Singapore and from Singapore to Sydney. Both seemed to last forever.

As I had been expecting, my auntie and uncle were waiting for us outside the Sydney airport. I don't know how we found our way out of the airport building- which seemed like an endless maze of corridors and signs- in the very first place.

I've only seen my auntie and uncle in pictures before. They look exactly the same in real life, even though the only pictures we've got are from about five years ago. That was strange, worthy questioning, even though I knew that I would never be brave enough to ask anyone about it.

My aunt Sarah is a really skinny person with a golden tan and long, straight blonde hair. She looks really young even though she is in her late forties. Her husband Logan is a muscular man with a dark tan and black, neatly brushed back hair, also in his late forties. He is a few inches taller than Sarah.

Sarah waved her slim hand welcomingly and then she ran with Logan in our direction as gracefully as if she was dancing; she didn't hide her excitement. She looked as if the happiest thing in her live has just happened. She looked as if she has won a lottery.

As they approached us, I could finally study their features closely. Sarah had a really kind looking aqua blue eyes with long eyelashes. To my surprise, what seemed as fake lashes was actually real. She had laugh lines and her nose was little and straight. She probably could be a model if she would want to, I thought to myself. I also thought that she is a trustworthy person who you can go to and tell everything that bothers you and she will always find a way to make you feel better. She is like a mother figure- caring and helpful. Not over caring like my mum Marie though- whom I love anyway.

"Hello! I hope you had a peaceful journey my dears." Sarah said in a sweet, kind voice and then she hugged each one of us. I saw tears of excitement and happiness in her aqua eyes. Yes, she definitely was a kind and caring person.

Her grip was strong, like she didn't want to let go of us or like we were really slippery and would slip out of her hold at any moment. I thought that it was the warmest welcome I've ever had in my entire life.

Once Sarah unwillingly let go of us, her husband approached in a steady pace to welcome us.

"Hello." Logan said loudly but rather shyly in a deep, warm voice.

"May I take your baggage?" Now I could see that his eyes were a beautiful, hazel colour. Like Sarah's, they held an incredible kindness in them. His lips were tight and he had laugh lines just like Sarah.

"Oh don't bother, we can manage to do it ourselves, but thanks anyway." Was my dad's (Andrew's) automatic response. He was a sort of person who wanted to have everything done by himself. He thought that it was the only way for something to be done properly. It was one of those points of view that I have inherited from him.

"I'm sure you had a long and tiring journey. Let me take it for you." Logan insisted and before my dad had even time to think of how to answer him, he took our bags and started carrying them somewhere around the corner where I suppose his car was. He really was strong, I thought with amazement.

"Let's go my dears. The cars are just there, around this corner." She pointed. It took us thirty seconds to get to the cars. One was a blue, shiny Citroen with a big boot and the other one was a rather small silver BMW. Both of the cars looked new and expensive. Well what have I expected- they are both successful lawyers after all.

"We don't have a six-seater so we brought two cars with us." Sarah explained the whole situation with a kind smile on her face. In fact this smile seemed to never fade away.

"We thought that in the Citroen Logan will take your luggage and that I'll drive you back to our place in the BMW." She carried on explaining. Kindness not fading away from her face still.

Out of sudden I found myself being hugged for the second time today. It was a lot more delicate than the other hug though- as if I was a precious and breakable thing.

"I've been waiting for you lot to come for over twelve years. It's all my fault that it took so long. After all I was supposed to be a good lawyer." she said, her aqua eyes going glossy behind her long eyelashes. She was hugging her only brother now- my dad.

"Sarah, you know we would have came earlier if not our language problems. So don't blame yourself." he comforted her.

"It's not your fault that it took us so long just to learn basics of English, and now lets get moving. We can't stand here forever." my dad said as politely as he could. Sarah couldn't and didn't complain.

I knew that my dad Andrew didn't like showing his feelings much and that he felt the same way as Sarah- if it comes to happiness and excitement.

We got ourselves sat comfortably in the BMW with Sarah behind the wheel. I felt sorry for Logan who had to drive on his own.

"Maybe I should go with uncle Logan? I will keep him company." I said, for I did enjoy making people happy especially when all I had to do was to keep company. It was so simple at the moment to make someone smile.

"That's a great idea dear. I bet this will greatly satisfy him. You are such a good child." answered my aunt in a grateful tone. I wondered how many things my parents would have told her about me and my sister, Angela, when they talked to her on the phone. I know I am a good person but she couldn't have stated that without knowing me more.

I got out of the silver BMW and marched towards much bigger blue Citroen. For a fraction of a second I felt like I was going to regret the decision I made but as I opened the passenger door, Logan welcomed me with a warm smile and such thoughts escaped my mind.

"Hi. Did Sarah send you as a messenger?" he said. From his voice I could tell that something was bothering him.

"No. Aunt Sarah has nothing to do with it. I, um, decided that I should keep you company; that you shouldn't drive by yourself." I answered honestly. I saw his hazel eyes get warmer; if that was possible. He seemed more relaxed.

"Well... Thank you. I'm a rather sociable man." after these words I sat myself on the passenger seat. To my surprise it was more comfortable than in the other car.

The whole way to my relative's house, I chatted to Logan about England and told him how much I hated it there. I also asked many questions about Australia (aiming to get as much information from him as I could) that he was more than happy to answer. I found out that he and my aunt have already found a school for me. I was going to go to South Sydney High School in Maroubra. I was to get started the following Monday. To be honest I was scared that I won't be liked, that I'll be an outsider in a country of my dreams- just like I was one in England. I still had today and tomorrow until Monday though so I've got time to mentally prepare myself. I would have never thought that talking to Logan would be so easy and pleasant.

We were driving behind the silver BMW and eventually we found ourselves on a street with big and expensive houses on both sides of the road. Each one of them had it's own garden, at least two garages and a swimming pool. We stopped in front of the biggest house on the street. It had two garages and beautiful windows- every window was decorated with stained glass at the upper part of it which was really effective in attracting attention to itself. The door was made out of honey coloured wood which composed well with the sunflower yellow paint in which the house was painted. Unlike the other houses, it didn't have a swimming pool or a garden (that I could see).

"This is going to be your home for some time until your dad finds a job and a house of his own. We will help him with that so it will be pretty soon." declared Logan.

"Oh" was all I could say because something about the house made me not even want to think about moving into a different one.

"Where exactly in Australia are we now?" I had to ask- I was purely curious.

"In Maroubra in New South Wales. Maroubra belongs to the local area of the city of Randwick. It is placed ten kilometres South-East from Sydney central business district if you wish to know. Maroubra also is a part of Eastern suburbs region." He answered in one breath. Then we went through the honey wood door inside where others have been waiting- after Logan has parked his car safely in one of the garages.

"What took you so long out there?" asked my mum with unnecessary concern in her voice. Her chocolate brown eyes that I sometimes envied searched for any signs of injury on me. She definitely was over caring. I wonder what she thought- probably that I hurt myself on something in the garage which, in fact I couldn't blame her for, especially considering the fact that I can hurt myself on _anything_. I'm a magnet to blood spilling situations.

"We were talking about Australia." I answered. I said it half-heartedly because I suddenly felt tired. My mum seemed to realise that.

"You need to rest dear, ask aunt Sarah for the way to your room. By the way, I think that you will like it."

"Okay mum." I moaned- I didn't want to sleep yet, even though I was tired.

"She is upstairs by the way." my mum added quickly before I vanished from her eyesight.

I went up the stairs. There was a long corridor with four doors. I jumped as one of them opened and my aunt came out.

"I've just been setting up your room dear. I hope you will like it. Come and have a look." She took my arm in her bony hand and dragged me towards the creamy door she would have came out from earlier. The room was small with sky blue walls. It had two windows- both on the ceiling- one over the comfy looking single bed- which means that I'm going to have a nice view at night.

A cupboard was opened with a small pile of my clothes on one side and much bigger pile of clothes that I didn't recognize on the other.

"Whose are these?" I pointed at the unknown to me neat pile of clothes.

"All yours dear. It's just one of your Australia coming presents." She announced.

"Wow, you really shouldn't have. Thank you so much." I answered. It was _one_ of my Australia coming presents. My thoughts tangled around the last sentence.

"We wanted you to feel welcome here. And now tell me how do you like your room?" Her aqua eyes flickered with interest as she said that.

"I love it. I absolutely love it and I always wanted to have windows in the ceiling. And sky blue paint has it's charm. It's perfect! Thank you!" I smiled and then gave her a big hug. Her eyes were flickering with gladness now.

"I'm going to leave you on your own now dear. I'm glad that you're happy. You need to wake up early tomorrow if you want to see something amazing and I'm saying no more. Sweet dreams dear." she stated and before I could ask her anything else she was gone, leaving me with my thoughts.

I just realized that next to my bed, in the left corner of the room was another creamy door. I opened it and I found myself in a small bathroom. I looked around. The floor was covered in perfect white tiles and the walls were covered in pastel pink. There was a beautifully framed mirror on the wall and a small window. I really liked it all.

I came up to the mirror. There was a small, neat note stuck to it.

_This bathroom is all yours for the time you will spend here so make yourself comfortable. Sarah Rail xxx_

I smiled as I read it. They really thought about everything: school, bedroom, bathroom, clothes and who knows what else. I was so grateful. I wondered whether I was worth it all.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I had a rather pale skin,-from the lack of sunlight- literally silver eyes which were duplicates of my grandmother's, my dad's round face and medium sized nose and my mum's beautiful lips. My hair was brown with blond streaks. It was natural- I've never dyed it or even planned to. My hair was special- I could have it either with streaks or without streaks at any time. It was all up to where I put the parting on my hair. When it was on the left side, my hair was medium-dark brown and when it was on the right side, my hair was light brown with blond streaks. My mum envied the thickness of my hair and the way it shone. I was what my family and people from Poland called beautiful.

I had a long and relaxing bath and then dressed myself in short-sleeved pyjamas then I quickly blow-dried my hair and brushed my teeth. After those routines I went to bed and quickly drifted into a deep sleep. I had a dreamless night.

Next morning someone woke me up. I gave out a long yawn and then stretched myself. I saw blurred but familiar face in front of me. It was Sarah. She was grinning- showing her perfect, straight teeth. Her aqua blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

"Wake up Sleeping Beauty! You have to hurry- amazing things don't last forever." She grinned.

"Get yourself dressed quickly but be quiet because everyone else is still asleep." she reminded me. I stood up and took a blue dress (the Australia coming present) from the cupboard and changed quickly in the bathroom. I tied up my tangled hair, I wasn't really bothered to do anything else with it now.

"Are you ready yet?" I heard a voice coming from downstairs.

"Well if you are come here then."

I quickly ran down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as possible but I almost tripped on the last step. I grabbed myself on the banister in the last fraction of second. I was lucky not to fall over but also unlucky; there was a little piece of nail sticking out and it scratched the tip of my forefinger at my right hand. Blood started oozing from the wound. I groaned and put my finger in my mouth. It was an automatic response.

"Here you go." Sarah passed me a strip of plaster- she must have heard me groaning and guessed what happened.

"Do you want to see that amazing thing or not dear?" She looked unsure. She gave a quick glance at my dressed finger. There was something I haven't seen before in her eyes. She turned away from me quickly so I couldn't examine them closer but from what I caught a glimpse of, a silly question aroused in my head:

Could it have been…hunger in her eyes? No, it must have been concern- I corrected myself.

"Of course I want to. Please lead the way." I didn't want a tiny cut to spoil whatever _amazing_ thing was waiting there for me. She led us out of the house into the garden which I haven't seen before because it wasn't seen from the road. It was the biggest garden I would have seen so far and the most amazing one.

"W-o-w." I thought I was dreaming. There were birds of varied hues and sizes wherever I rested my eyes. There were different tints of blue feathery balls sitting on one of the tree branches and various shades of red ones on a different one. There were different colours also but those stood out the most.

I didn't recognize any of those birds except from a lonely pair.

"Wow. A pair of Rainbow Lorikeets." I pointed at the loveliest birds out of them all. My aunt smiled warmly and her aqua blue eyes sparkled with what I knew was happiness.

"Yes, that's right." She confirmed.

"You seem to love this?" It was more of a question than a statement. How could she believe that I wouldn't like _such_ an amazing thing.

"Sarah. How can I not _love_ it? It's something I've _never_ seen before. It's _amazing_." That seemed to have convinced her.

"I thought I was dreaming when I saw it all." This made her glow. She looked so young. And she doesn't behave like other people of her age that I know- moan about everything and keep on repeating that she is too old.

"We need to feed them." She said.

"There's everything ready on the kitchen table. Can you bring it here, please?" She asked and I nodded.

I quickly ran to the kitchen table and picked up a bag of seeds and another bag full of wriggling worms- which made me flinch- and ran back to the garden.

I passed Sarah the bags. She opened them and started chucking the contents all over the place. Birds became more animated, fighting for food.

"Lets go. They are quite dangerous when they fight for food. I got scratched few times." She pointed at the few scars she had on her right hand.

When we came back in everyone was up and Sarah started making breakfast.

After I ate the breakfast I drifted away to my bedroom. The clock said that it was only ten past seven in the morning. I had a _lot_ of time so I picked up a book "_White Fang_" from the shelf. It was about wolves. I would have read it few times before, because it was the sort of book that usually took me a day to read. The point of it is to keep my head away from thinking about tomorrow.

Reading the book took me the rest of the morning and whole afternoon with breaks for lunch and dinner.

In the evening, just after the supper, I finished the book and all the thoughts I kept from my mind, inevitably rushed into my consciousness.

'What if I won't be liked because of my appearance or because of the way I talk- my accent? What if I'll say something stupid as it often happens? Or what if they don't like people from other countries?' The same thoughts circulated my head. It was time to sleep but I couldn't close an eye. Everything seemed so loud, - a buzz of a fly, murmur of the wind against the leaves- every little rustle seemed to keep me fully awake.

Everyone was asleep except from me, so I tried 'counting the sheep'- to my surprise it worked. I finally found myself in 'Dreamland' but without dreams.

**Please leave your reviews people! Constructive criticism will be much appreciated! **


	3. Chapter 2

**I hoped you liked the previous chapter! In here you'll see Kate's first day at school where she meets Calla! I hope that you'll enjoy! :)**

CHAPTER 2

I had a dreamless night. I guess I was way too worried about school to let my mind produce any kind of dream.

My sleep was so light that I roused when I heard my mum's meant-to-be quiet footsteps. She must have thought I was still asleep because she started shaking me violently.

"Kate! Wake up or you will be late to school." I heard her whisper urgently.

"I was already awake when you came." I remarked. She rolled her eyes and walked out of my room to give me some privacy.

I stood up and stretched my stiff muscles. I picked up some clothes that I had chosen from the 'Australia coming present' pile yesterday night. I ran to the bathroom and combed my hair slowly and then I parted them on the right side to show off my blond streaks. I left my hair loose but I put a hair-bubble around my wrist just in case I had PE today.

I got dressed quickly. I rushed downstairs (trying not to trip over like yesterday) for my breakfast which was waiting for me on the kitchen table. I chewed the crispy toasts with jam fiercely and then briefly slurped the milk from the glass.

I thanked Sarah and mum for making me some breakfast and rushed up the stairs. I picked up my brand new rucksack, equipped with notebooks, exercise books, pencil case and a planner- which was a useful thing for a person with memorising problems.

"Kate! I've got something for you!" Sarah cried out from the kitchen.

'It must be another 'Australia coming present' or something along those lines'. I thought as I ran back downstairs with the rucksack hanging over my shoulder. I went down to the kitchen where Sarah stood, her eyes flickering with curiosity. She pointed at two bundles that laid on the square, mahogany kitchen table.

I picked the first one up, unsure what to expect. It was wrapped in silvery wrapping paper. I tore the paper off with one swift movement. I found myself holding a little, black gift box that jewellery is given in. I opened it, I was curious indeed.

I examined the item in my hands closely. It was beautiful. It was a gold necklace with a flower shaped charm that had a carving of Mary and baby Jesus on it. It made me smile. It reminded me of the necklace from my favourite grandmother that I'd have lost few years before. It used to be my personal source of good luck.

"I picked this one with your mum in the internet. It is for good luck dear."

She gesticulated towards my mum and smiled- showing her perfect teeth.

"Anyway, unpack the other one." She was so excited. She looked like she is going to jump over the moon (if it there was one out- it was daytime after all).

"Okay." I responded smiling, also excited.

I've put the necklace on before I reached for the other bundle which was wrapped in golden paper and tied with a scarlet ribbon that stood out beautifully. I froze as I tore the paper off. Here in my hands I was holding - shimmering in a profusion of sunlight- car keys. I was amazed and second time since I've been here I had to think whether I was worth it all. What is the point of 'Australia coming presents' anyway? Is it to keep me here? To help me settle?

I've been brought back on Earth as Sarah grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the front (honey wood) door.

"You've got to see it. Your dad said that this is the car you wanted to get in the future." She almost chirped those words in her excitement. I envied a little the way her beautiful eyes sparkled happily, in harmony with her feelings.

We stopped outside the house where the car was parked.

"But… could it be-?" I was so amazed. The car I wanted so much is parked right here, ready for me to sit in it comfortably and drive it.

It was a Peugeot 307 convertible. And if the car wasn't enough in it's own grace, it was painted a fiery orange metallic colour. It was exactly the colour I would have dreamed about to have my car painted.

"You must be joking me! The car of my dreams in a country of my dreams? I'm being greatly spoiled here." I teased my aunt. She smiled a wide grin of perfect teeth back at me. Her eyes sparkled like never before. She seemed to glow and looked happier than ever.

Sarah's long blond hair was tied up in a neat bun (it was like that only when she was doing some work- whenever at her home office or in the kitchen). That reminded me of everything that was to happen today- me having to put up with school and her going to work.

"I got to go to school." I hesitated slightly. I was about to ask who will drive me there which sounded silly now when I had my own car. I didn't know where exactly the school was and that was the only problem.

"Have a nice ride then dear." My aunt smiled and kissed my cheek for goodbye like aunts often tend to do. I stiffened at the thought that I will have to drive on my own.

"Don't worry dear. I wouldn't let you drive to school without you knowing the way." She said convincingly as if she read my thoughts.

"Just look inside your car. I'm off to work now. Bye Kate!" She chirped in her warm voice.

"One more thing Kate; this car has been chosen by Logan and your dad with a bit of my help. Logan wanted to give it you personally but he had to go to work earlier today." She added and shortly vanished from my sight.

I was about to open the door of my new fiery orange convertible but my mother, Marie had cried out for me urgently and rushed out from the house with my little sister clenched on her side.

"Yes mum?" I asked- watching her gasping for breath.

"Please take Angela to school. Her school is on the way to yours so it shouldn't be a problem. Can you do that for me?" She requested once her breathing went back to normal.

"Sarah was supposed to do it but she had to go to work. She was already running late." My mum explained.

"Ok mum, that's no problem as long as I know the address." I told her.

"All the needed addresses are already saved on your GPS, love." She winked.

"Wow. GPS. I should have thought that mum." I grinned. Logan and whoever else was it that helped choosing this car has really made it perfect for me in every detail.

"Angela lets go." I sweetly smiled to my cute six-year old sister and seized her delicate hand. I led her to the passenger side. She was faster to open the door. She sat herself on the creamy leather seat and clipped her seat belt straight away. I shut the door behind her and strode towards the driver's side.

The door opened smoothly. I settled myself comfortably on the creamy leather seat that shone with its newness. It was so nice to sit on this seat, so relaxing.

I gave a quick glance at the inside of my car. There was a sticky note stuck to the white, furry steering wheel. I quickly recognised Sarah's neat writing.

_All the addresses you'll need are already typed into your GPS. I hope you like your car dear. Enjoy the ride! Sarah Rail xxx_

My aunt and my uncle are the most kind people in the universe. I was certain of that. The car had a wooden dashboard and an automatic gearbox. It had air conditioning which I set to room temperature. In one word it was… luxurious. It was something I would never had before.

I was really glad that just after my sixteenth birthday I had passed a driving test. Now I was seventeen and able to get whenever I want to on my own. I smiled to myself for making a good choice at my sixteenth year of living on this world.

I've put the keys into ignition and turned them swiftly. The car gave a silent purr as it came to life. Now the most important thing- GPS. It was attached to one of the air conditioning crates. I pressed the red button with some force. The screen lighted up and a computerised voice welcomed me. I would have dealt with satellite navigation before so I knew what to do. In the menu I chose 'addresses' and then picked one marked as 'Angela's school'. The way was surprisingly short and easy. It was barley two streets away from Sarah's house.

I didn't talk to Angela as I drove her to school and if not the radio, the silence would be crushing.

I didn't know where did I gain so much concentration from. Probably I gained it subconsciously from the part of the brain that fights for survival because it was the only part of me that didn't worry about today… it will get to worry later on though- when I won't have to concentrate on my life- I believed.

I turned right- just as the computer male voice told me.

"You've reached your destination." It told after a while of driving straight forward.

I searched for a parking space.

"Kate, there!" pointed Angela at the space between a red Mercedes and a black Jeep.

"Thanks. Do you know where to go?" If she doesn't then that can be a problem because I don't know where she is supposed to go either. To my relief she nodded but I couldn't believe a six years old child straight away.

"Are you sure? Maybe you want me to come with you?" I wouldn't want to get in trouble with my parents. She nodded again.

"Look Kate! It's there where these kids are playing." She pointed at a group of kids- probably of her age. Now I could trust her for sure.

She unclipped her seatbelt, kissed me on a cheek smiling and ran off to the place where youngsters were jumping about happily. I hoped that her day will be good. She turned around and waved goodbye with her delicate hand. She looked so cute in the pink knee length dress. She had her mum's eyes- chocolate brown and she had my dad's brown hair. I grinned back at her, also waving goodbye.

I watched her for a while- running towards her new class mates, then I changed the destination on my GPS to 'My school' and drove away listening to the radio and the computer voice at the same time.

My school wasn't as close to Sarah's house as Angela's but it was not far away either.

'My school is four point four kilometres away from Angela's school, so it is five kilometres away from Sarah's house' I made a quick calculation in my head.

I drove slowly- just over thirty kilometres. My nerves were in shreds…first day at school. I will get to know if Australia is as good as it seemed so far or whether my (worthy a reputation of nightmares) thoughts are true.

How good that the golden sun was out. If the weather would be worse, my mood would surely match it perfectly. The sun certainly helped a lot. I was extremely scared but with the sun's help I was also somehow eager and excited.

'Oh God, bless the sun!' I thought. It's so magical how this hanging on the sky ball of fire can affect me and many others around. No wonder that Sarah and Logan are always in a good mood- fifteen years in roasting sun with only a few drops of rain throughout the year is what I call a paradise or at least a part of my imagined paradise.

I felt my throat going suddenly dry but it wasn't because I was thirsty…I could see the school. It was surrounded by a thick, dark forest and green hills. I could see it's extensive pitches. There were two football pitches with people playing football on them. There was one pitch that I knew was especially designed for running and other athletic activities. I was a good runner and I knew that I will enjoy spending time on that particular pitch. That was one good thing that I could spot already.

The computerised voice told me that I've reached my destination and made me toot my horn by accident. It made all the pedestrians look my way. I tried to look as if nothing happened- as if it wasn't me who just tooted the horn. The one thing I hated the most was being stared at as if I was an exhibit in the museum… I'm going to dislike today. Obviously everyone will glare at me. I'm new in this school and already I've done a silly thing. I bet that everyone will be like 'Oh it's that new girl who tooted her horn for no reason' but on the other hand it was just an accident… it happens. I can't be too nervous about it. I have to calm down. It wasn't _that_ humiliating experience anyway.

The crowd of students whose interest was gained by my horn, now continued striding toward the school gates. I realised that all of them were tanned. This was no good- it will make me stand out with my light, peachy skin but what else could I have expected? Australians without a tan? All of them to be albinos?

I drove slowly toward the arch-shaped gates of my new school. I was really stiff and tensed out of sudden- it was sign of great stress.

The gate was pastel green in colour and looked quite old. I drove past the gate… getting tenser with every second because now it was time to look for a place to park (which I was no good at). I was lucky, there was a free parking space next to a big, white sign announcing 'South Sydney High School' in green letters. There also was a telephone number given and the school motto- 'Let us be known by our deeds'. I totally agreed with the motto, I was judged too much by appearance in England. I hope that students in here also agree with it.

'You can buy beauty but knowledge you'll be never able to buy.'- My dad would have repeated so many times. He is a great father. Strict but great. He always wants the best for me. He would have told me about the mistakes he made and he would have changed the way I look at the world. One of his biggest mistakes according to his stories was the one to chose not to continue with his education. He told me that I shouldn't ever follow the path he took. He said that if he would have gone to college, he would have had a better job now and that our family would have had been in Australia a lot sooner.

My mother would have told me the same type of stories- also wanting me to have a great future and to chose a correct path. She is the believer in our family. She believes that I will have an easier future. She is what anyone could call a motherly friend.

I love my parents. I shall never let them down. I own them too much to leave them disappointed after all their effort they've put in raising me.

I parked my car next to the sign and silenced the engine down. An urge of panic washed through me, giving me goose bumps. I didn't know where I was supposed to go. I was very nearly hyperventilating in the car. I took a few deep breaths to clear my mind and calm myself down then I closed my eyes to concentrate on planning something out.

After a minute of thought I figured out that I should get out of my car and find someone who could help me. It was a simple plan. When I find someone who is kind enough to help, I'll ask him or her for the way to reception and then I'll ask the receptionist for the map of the school plus my time table.

I opened the door slowly, concentrating on my plan. I grabbed my bag and stepped out of the car. I gave a quick gaze at my surrounding and locked my orange Peugeot with one click of the button. I was in a car park (obviously) and I had to find someone who looks kind and helpful.

My legs shovelled forward with struggle. In fact they only moved because they had to, not because they wanted to. I searched for that someone who hopefully won't mind helping me.

There was a group of people laughing and messing about around the corner but they didn't look welcoming so I carried on searching. My eyes stopped on a lonely girl sitting on the bench under the protective shade of a hefty tree. She was reading a book but I couldn't see what the title was. She had a cinnamon carnation and black, shoulder long, wavy hair. I could feel that she wouldn't mind giving me a hand in need.

I started walking towards the bench. There was a plenty of room left where I could sit. The girl didn't look up as I sat myself next to her. I cleared my throat- that caught her attention.

"Hi. My name is Kate" I smiled kindly.

I just realised one thing about the girl, she had the most intriguing eyes I would have ever seen. They were an unique emerald green.

"Hello. My name is Calla. Nice to meet you Kate." She smiled shyly and then tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I was just wondering if I could ask you for some help?" I hesitated slightly. Why would this girl want to help me anyway? I was surprised when she smiled kindly.

"Of course, no problem." Was her answer. Now I had to tell her what I wanted.

"Um, can you show me where is reception in this school…please?" I stated. She smiled and nodded.

"No problem, lets go." She shoved the book that I've interrupted her from reading into her bag, then she stood up and hung her bag over her shoulder. She was as tall as me (about 5.4 feet). She was as slim as me too. Her shoulder long jet black hair seemed to radiate in the sun.

Calla started walking and I followed. We were walking towards a small white, separate building with blue door. As we came in I could tell straight away that she led me the right way. There was a big, tall desk behind which sat three women typing something fiercely on the computer keyboards. One of them looked up from the computer screen.

"How can I help you?" She asked interested and somehow surprised by our visit.

"I'm new in this school and I don't have a time table for my lessons." I informed the plump woman behind the desk.

"And…What is your name Miss?" She asked. She looked impatient.

"I'm Kate Burney." The woman whispered something to the woman next to her as I told my name. The other woman whispered in to the ear of the one with round glasses and now I had all three of them staring at me curiously.

"Are you Sarah and Logan Rail's niece by any chance?" Questioned the one with round glasses. I answered her question with a single nod.

The reaction I witnessed was really unexpected, all three women stared at me wide eyed with their mouths slightly parted. Have they seen a ghost? I turned around to check if perhaps it was something behind me that they were looking at. There was nothing interesting, just a notice board and the blue door I came here through. I raised my eyebrows in confusion.

"So I'm Kate Burney the niece of Rails' and now can I have my lesson time table please?" I asked quite rudely because I was getting inpatient. The women shook themselves and two of them went back to typing fiercely on the keyboards. One of them, the plump one printed out something and handed it to me, then she also went back to typing.

I glanced at my time table. I had science first today. I was in classroom S5. I had no idea where was that.

"Do you need help finding your way to your first lesson?" Suddenly a melodic voice came from behind me. I turned around only to realise it was Calla. I nodded my head in acceptance.

"I have science in S5 first today." I informed and then passed her my time table so she can have a look herself. She looked amused as she checked for herself.

"What is it?" I creased my forehead.

"You've been holding this upside down. You don't have science but English in E3 first today." She explained and we both laughed at my silliness. From now on I was sure that me and Calla are going to be good friends.

**Review please!!!!!**


	4. Chapter 3

**This chapter is for people I've met through fanfic! You are all brilliant! Please Review!**

CHAPTER 3

The bell rang deafeningly, making me cover up my ears.

"I've only just realised that you're in my teaching group!" Calla managed to shout over the noise of the bell.

"I have English in E3 first today. I've checked on my time table. We also have other lessons together. Isn't that good?" She told me after the bell finally stopped informing us that we should move on.

"Yes that's great and thanks for your help." I smiled at my new friend and she, as I expected beamed back at me in return.

"Aw, that was nothing." She stated with a big grin across her face.

"So you are Rails' niece?" She asked and her expression suddenly changed from happy to unreadable.

"Yes… Is there something wrong with that?" Why did people react so strangely about the fact that I was Sarah and Logan's niece?

Calla seemed to realise that her question made me suspicious and confused because she was smiling again whilst shaking her head.

"No there's nothing wrong with that…They are both really good lawyers and _everyone_ respects them." Calla assured me but I felt as if there was something she was trying to hide from me or that her words had a double meaning. If she was someone I knew for longer then I wouldn't mind asking her but she practically was a stranger and there was no reason why she would want to tell me anything so I figured out that I should just let the subject drop.

"Lets go to E3." We both said at the same time and then laughed at our coincidence. Calla beckoned for me to follow and I started walking behind her. She walked as gracefully as a model- that was something my eyes would have missed at first. I could only follow and envy, realising how very ponderous were my movements in comparison to hers.

We stepped into E3. We were_ just_ on time; the classroom was already full. Everyone was busy chatting and the teacher was nowhere to be seen. Calla walked towards her seat- next to a muscular, red haired boy.

I felt quite self-conscious to stand in the middle of the classroom. Suddenly everyone quietened down as the door behind me opened, making my heart beat faster. Everyone was sat down expect from me, it was really humiliating- everyone was gawking at me and some girls in the corner were holding back their giggles.

"Miss Burney, as I presume?" Asked a male voice from behind which I knew belonged to a teacher.

"Yes sir. That's me." I confirmed as I faced a rather attractive tall man with a thick, jet black mop of hair and thick moustache.

"You must be Rails' niece then, right?" He hesitated slightly and I nodded in response. I could almost hear all the faces in the room tense as if I've announced someone's death. Third time today people reacted strangely at the fact that I'm Sarah and Logan's niece. Now there _must_ be something that slipped through my mind past this two days or there's something that hasn't been mentioned to me.

"Um, can you just go outside the classroom so that I can speak to the class… It shouldn't take long. I'll call you back when I'm finished." He murmured under his breath. I was out of the classroom after I giving him a short, affirming nod.

My head was tangled in thoughts.

'Why did I have to walk out of the classroom? Why couldn't I've just stayed when he was talking to them? Why do people react so strangely because of who my aunt and uncle are? Why does everyone go suddenly quiet when someone mentions them?' These were the questions on my mind; always beginning with 'Why'. I needed someone to answer them for me before I become insane.

I didn't have to wait long (not long enough to clear my mind) until my English teacher's head appeared from the gap between the door.

"You can come back in now Miss Burney. I'm Mr. Roger by the way." I heard him say.

I stepped back into the classroom full of gawking people. I felt as if I was an exhibit in a museum. Mr. Roger gesticulated towards an empty seat, where I would have seen the red haired boy sit previously. I was told to sit next to Calla and that certainly was a good start. At least I didn't have to sit next to a stranger.

I was welcomed by a warm smile as I sat next to Calla, then the lesson began and I had to concentrate on what Mr. Roger was trying to teach us.

The annoying bell rang the second time today; informing us to go to our next lesson. Me and Calla will be having geography in room 1.3 now.

We walked or shall I say practically ran to our next lesson. Calla told me that there isn't much time given to get to our next subject class, that's why we had to be quick.

As we walked in, a female teacher with shoulder-long, brown, curly hair noticed me and beckoned me with her long finger. She looked as if she was from Italy.

I've let my legs carry me towards her. She asked if I was Kate Burney, Sarah and Logan's niece. I nodded my head and for a glimpse of a second her face was unreadable. She shook that expression off and then told me that she was called Mrs. McCrea.

"You can sit there Kate." Mrs. McCrea pointed at a free seat next to a brown-skinned boy who was just pulling his jumper off, showing his ripped chest in the process of it. I could feel a slight blush spread across my face and I barley ever blushed.

I walked slowly towards my table. The boy looked up at me. I was awed, frozen; something punched my insides, making my stomach flip and my heart to beat frantically. The boy, despite his dark skin tone, had sparkling, cerulean eyes. They were more beautiful than Calla's, Sarah's or Logan's eyes added up together.

The boy had chestnut hair that was neatly spiked up. His face was very angular and chiseled. He was so perfect… so beautiful and angelic.

'No, no, no, he isn't! He is just an average boy. Don't get too excited because you've got no chance with him anyway.' I've thought to myself. This way of thinking worked well and convincingly. What chance did I stand with him, especially if to consider that he was a stranger and I was the ugliest person in the whole universe?

I took my seat quietly and tried to concentrate on the lesson, but I couldn't with the unknown boy by my side. I was glad that I somehow managed not to peek at his perfection.

"Work with the person you sit next to and together make a distribution map of Australia." Mrs. McCrea set us a task and once again I felt a faint blush spread on my face today. I felt really self-conscious. The unknown boy glanced at the teacher with his cerulean eyes wide open in disbelief. Humiliation spread around my body like a poison.

I realised that there was something familiar in his beautiful eyes, something I saw somewhere before. I wasn't hundred percent sure whether I saw it in England or in Australia but I knew that I will recall it sometime.

The teacher gave the stranger next to me a harsh but meaningful look which made him groan. The boy looked at me with eyes full of hatred and I felt myself shrinking in the chair. Did I do something to this boy? He was eyeing me as if I have had killed all the members of his family in a savage way. He made a famous phrase jump into my mind- 'If looks could kill'- if they could, someone would be arranging a funeral for me right now.

Mrs. McCrea handed out sheets of plain A3 paper and square boxes full of colours for each table.

For a while neither I or the boy reached out for the given equipment, then everything happened in the rush. First thing I knew was that we both reached for the same thing at the same time and our hands touched by accident for a fraction of second. The second thing I knew was that there was nothing but an overwhelming blackness spreading in my head like ink spreads in the water.

As the blackness covered my thoughts completely, it vanished and was replaced by complete nothingness. I didn't know for how long it lasted but it did seem long.

Suddenly the blackness appeared again followed by the ability to think clearly. What has happened and why has something happened?

"Mrs. Dove, she's waking up." I heard a familiar melodic voice coming from the left side of the room. I was pretty much sure that it belonged to Calla.

I opened my eyes and saw Calla and a petite woman who I suspected to be Mrs. Dove. Both of them were examining my face for some reason.

I tried to sit up to show them that I was fine but I underestimated my abilities and tried to sit up too fast which ended up not only in dizziness but also in an, nearly unbearable, ache on the top of my head. I managed not to groan in pain and to keep my face straight. I must have had banged my head and I must have had hit it hard.

"How do you feel?" The petite woman (probably the nurse) asked, glaring at me with concern.

"You've hit your head really hard Miss Burney." I already figured that out without her needing to tell me. All I needed to know is what happened and why did it happen- I knew the outcomes, in fact I could feel them and they were painful.

"I'm fine." I lied, ignoring the growing pain on the top of my head. I was a really convincing liar. I always used my acting skills when telling lies.

"What happened to me?" The nurse looked like as if she hoped I wouldn't ask that question. How foolish of her was that.

"Well…" from her expression I guessed that she was looking for the right words. She seemed concentrated and tensed. Does she have bad news?

In one instance her expression changed into more relaxed- she must had found the correct words to express herself.

"You've fainted-"

"Why?" I didn't even let her finish the sentence.

"Because your brain didn't get enough oxygen. It's no big deal… You'll have to stay here and rest for a while though." I sighed- I didn't wan to stay in here.

'It's no big deal…' I repeated these words in my mind. My aching head somehow didn't want to let them sink in. It was probably because I couldn't understand how fainting away was no big deal. Never before in my life I would have passed out, ever, but surely it was no big deal!

"I'm going to get you an ice pack for your head dear." Said the nurse after a while and was shortly gone out of my sight.

I was using every tiny bit of my concentration, trying to remember what lead me to passing out.

Then it struck me…it was the most vivid flashback I would have had in my life. First the mesmerizing cerulean eyes then the Geography pair work and finally the touch of the unknown boy's soft, naturally tan skin.

I creased my forehead in thought and confusion. I would have fainted when our hands touched by accident. Didn't I breathe because of that or what? That was unlikely especially if to consider that I never fainted before, even though I had more than one good chance to do so. I've never fainted even when others around did, no matter what was the situation.

"There you go love." The nurse came back with an ice pack clenched in her hands. She passed me the ice pack whilst smiling at me warmly and then disappearing from the sight.

I put the ice pack on the place where my head hurt. It was a great relief, I smiled slightly from the comfort I felt.

"You felt and banged your head on the table quite hard Kate." I looked up at Calla who was seated on the wooden chair, in the corner of this small room.

"That's how you've hit your head." She informed. Her expression was hard to read but it looked like as if she was lost in thought.

"Do you want to go?" She asked and she had a hopeful look in her beautiful emerald eyes. As an answer to her question I nodded and smiled widely, that gained me a warm smile in return.

I didn't mind getting away from this small rectangular room. There were a few wooden chairs in the corner and one small window through which only a few rays of sunlight came in. This room made me think of England- a place I want to forget about.

I wanted to go not only because the room was too dull to exist in Australia but also because my head stopped pulsing from pain now.

Calla stood up and walked out of the room leaving me on my own. I waited patiently and after a while I heard nurse's voice drifting closer.

"Yes, I think that miss Burney can go home now and have some rest."

The door opened and the nurse entered with Calla who was widely grinning at me behind her back. I couldn't help but to grin back. As I grinned at Calla, the nurse turned around and Calla pulled an innocent face on. The nurse rolled her eyes and turned back to face me again. She was smiling sweetly.

"You shall go home now and have some rest dear. If your head hurts then get yourself a pain killer. If there are any problems like disordered vision or dizziness then contact your doctor immediately." I listened carefully to what Mrs. Dove had to say and tried my best to memorise it.

The nurse now faced Calla with a serious face.

"Miss Gravelle, can you make sure that Kate gets home safely?" So Calla's surname was Gravelle… I really liked the way it ringed in my ears. It sounded quite serious yet so beautiful- it suited her, well the beautiful part did, I wasn't so sure about the serious part. Calla wasn't a serious type of person (as far as I knew); she was a shy human being.

"No problem." She told the nurse, her cinnamon skin radiating from happiness. She reminded me a lot of Sarah for a moment. Mrs. Dove nodded her head as a 'thank you' to Calla and left the room without a further word.

Calla smiled and motioned her hand in a way which I guessed meant that I shall stand up.

"Have you got a car?" she asked.

"Yes" I answered. Calla pulled an expression which I thought meant that she wanted me to continue. I creased my forehead.

"What make is it?" so that's what she expected me to tell her.

"It's a Peugeot 307 convertible…it's fiery orange." I told her the colour just in case she wanted to know that too.

"Great, now give me the keys. It's not good for you to drive after what happened today." Did she really think that I wasn't capable of driving myself, just because I've banged my head? And how will she get home afterwards?

"I think I can drive-" I started but Calla interrupted me.

"You've heard the nurse miss Burney- I've got to make sure you get home safely." When she finished pointing out what job she was given, I figured out that there is no point of arguing any further and passed her the keys to my beloved car.

We walked outside in to the dazzling, roasting sun, which I love so much. I felt cheerful as the profusion of sunlight and warmth hugged my face and my bare shoulders delightfully.

"How will _you_ get home though?" I couldn't help asking, walking behind her as I often did today. I didn't want to cause any trouble to someone who is going to pick her up.

"Don't you worry, everything has been taken care of." She assured as we turned around the corner of the building. Her graceful movements made me have a hit on my self-esteem. I wondered how many days it will take me to learn my way around this school and stop feeling silly when following Calla.

I could spot the shapes of cars in the distance ahead of us, I could also see the hefty tree where I would have met Calla this morning.

My eyes searched for any glimpse of the fiery orange paintwork but couldn't find it anywhere. I tried to remember where would I have parked it. We were half way through now and I still didn't recall it. I started panicking- how good that Calla was walking in front of me or else she would have realised my strange behaviour.

'Hang on… there was a sign. Yes, there was! A white one, with school's motto and name on it written in green." I finally remembered. I relaxed and smiled- obviously pleased with myself. I grew even happier as I spotted the white sign that I would have just recalled.

I overtook Calla and now I was the one leading the way. It felt better that I imagined to be the leader. We ran through the aisles of parked cars, always making sure that we were getting closer to the sign.

This car park seemed like a maze right now and I felt like a rat searching for a slice of cheese. It seemed much bigger than I would have thought at first. After a while of passing through long rows of cars, I managed to find my fiery orange convertible. I felt relief instantly as I stroke- heated by the sun- paintwork of the vehicle, _my_ vehicle. I was growing obsessive about it and that disturbed me a little.

I decided that I was going to give one more try on driving on my own. I was deliberately striding towards the driver's side but I quickly changed the directions when I saw Calla put her hand on her hips and pull a disapproving face.

We both sat ourselves comfortably on the leather seats and clipped the seatbelts for safety.

"Your car is really nice." Smiled Calla as she started the engine.

"Thanks." I beamed, satisfied by her little remark.

I suddenly remembered something; does she know where I live and where to drive? If she didn't know then surely she would have asked… but she didn't.

"Do you know where to go?" I asked as she pulled out on to the calm road.

"Everyone knows where the Rails live." She smiled but the smile didn't get to her eyes. So everyone knew where my Uncle and Aunt live… where I currently live. It was hard to hide how creepy all this sounded.

"They are such a good lawyers…That's why." She answered as if she knew what thoughts and feelings evoked in me. Her statement didn't help much anyway. The fact that everyone knew where I lived with my family was still really creepy and I knew that I won't feel too safe at night anymore.

After about five minutes of silent driving (except from the radio) Calla turned into Sarah's and Logan's driveway where she cut the engine.

"We're here." She grinned and then passed me the keys. We stepped out of the car and Calla started talking to someone quietly on the phone. I couldn't hear a word of the conversation.

"Right, I'm going in five minutes." She announced as she finished whispering through her phone.

"We can go in if you want. I can make you something to eat or drink." It was lunch time now, I was hungry so why wouldn't she be?

"No, thank you, I'm not hungry. I'm on a special diet." She looked amused as if she found something funny about this. Is she really on a special diet? As if she needs any of that- I thought.

I gasped and jumped up as I heard a tooting sound out of the sudden. It didn't take long to spot the car that made this noise. It was certainly the easiest car to spot especially if to consider that it was a bright yellow Lamborghini Gallardo. I strode towards us so fast that it looked blurry.

The car stopped- sideways to us and then the door opened and out came _him._ The boy that I was sat next to on Geography- the reason of me fainting.

My heart beat was so fast now that it seemed as if my heart is going to escape my chest. He didn't look at me, he was looking at the house with his expression unreadable.

"Hi Nicolas." Chirped Calla towards dark skinned the boy- he was still studying the house.

"I told you to call me Nick and now we got to go." So his name is Nicolas but he prefers to be called Nick. I will remember that, I know I will. Our eyes met for a glimpse of a second and I smiled shyly- without return.

This was the first time I would have heard this angelic boy speak. His voice made me think of melting chocolate with it's sweetness but yet it was slightly bitter. It was very smooth and the sound of it melted my insides. I was in some sort of trans at the very moment and I really wished that he would speak again but he didn't. Instead they both swiftly got in to the car, just after Calla waved me goodbye and they were gone out of my sight without another word in a matter of seconds.

I was left with one unanswered question- Is Calla Nicolas' girlfriend?

I shook my head, hoping that this way I might dump this question from my head. There were more important questions to be answered but I knew that I would never bring myself to ask many of them. These were the questions like why people reacted so strangely today and why did I faint after Nicolas touched me. These were a lot more important; a lot more mysterious.

The house was silent when I entered; everyone was at work (except from Angela who was still at school).

It was lunch time and I had nothing to do so I made myself something to eat; then I watched TV until everyone came back home (I wasn't really paying attention to the TV because my head was spinning around the eventful day I had).

First to come were my parents with Angela by their sides. After them came Sarah with Logan- as cheerful as always. I was shocked that none of them realised that I would have came home early. It also was a relief because I didn't feel like being tormented with questions.

I was just about to go to my room when I was caught into a tight embrace by Sarah. Her aqua eyes flickered with curiosity and excitement. She asked me how was my school and I lied to her that it was good. What else could I have done? Bombard her with questions that sounded rude and out of this world even in my head? I told her that I've met Calla and that teachers were quite nice. That was the only truth that could be revealed.

I told my parents the same stories and lies.

After the quiet supper I ran into my bedroom, relieved for not having to pull a happy face any longer- just to not to make anyone suspicious.

I've let one tear escape at the thought of Nicolas and Calla _together._ I was haunted mostly by this single thought since the yellow Lamborghini vanished from my sight. I gave out a loud sigh.

I couldn't understand why did it bother me that much. It's not like I knew this guy for a long time. I didn't even talk to him and the way he looked at me at Geography… as if I killed his family… as if he was about to kill me in revenge.

I took a quick shower and quickly went to sleep. I didn't have a problem with falling asleep today. I was glad I didn't because it meant that all the thoughts are going to get silenced out for the night time.

**Did you like it? I hope you did! :) ^^ Review please or I'll send my dogs on you lol! (only joking!)**


	5. Chapter 4

**For everyone who likes this story!!! Anything that doesn't sound right in this chapter need to be reported in your review- it will only help because I'll know what to change!**

**Anyway R&R!**

CHAPTER 4

I was sat in a scarlet armchair in the middle of a small, circular room. The room, from what I could tell, was build mostly in a Greek style. I figured that out because of the columns that had Greek key printed over them and because of the marble statues of Greek gods and goddesses placed along the walls of the room.

I was sat in front of the fire place, watching the fiery tongues of fire flicker cheerfully. The amber-coloured fire was the only source of warmth and light in the room. It was just warm enough for a human being to feel content but not light enough to be able to study the surroundings closer. I raised out of the comfortable armchair and seized a burning twig out of the fireplace, careful not to burn my fingers. I held the twig firmly and then started exploring the room.

My feet was bare and I could feel the comforting softness of the fluffy carpet, I could feel it tickle me between my toes. I couldn't help smirking.

I walked towards the wall, willing to see what it felt and looked like.

As I came closer and closer the shapes on the wall became clearer. After a while I could finally confirm that the wall was covered in magnolias which were drawn on a cerulean background. I stopped in front of the wall awed because the drawings looked so realistic. I reached out my hand to prove to my stubborn self that what I could see was just a pretty picture. I touched the flowers and their petals seemed silky just like in reality. I reached for the tree's bark and it was just as rough as real. I reached for the cerulean background and I felt sunrays hugging my skin. I didn't know how could anyone on the world paint pictures that are so alluring to the human eye.

I shoved my feet unwillingly from the intriguing wall towards one of the still, cold sculptures. I felt the icy carving. I felt how rough, grainy and uneven the surface was.

I felt the fire on the twig getting dangerously closer towards the surface of my pale skin. I ran towards the fireplace and placed the twig where it would have came from. After that I dropped myself in to the armchair and closed my eyes.

Sudden realisation struck me. I recalled that earlier on I'd have heard the door make a creaking sound. I wildly gawked all over the place. My eyes locked on a tall, manly figure. I could tell it was Nicolas by the build and the dark skin tone. He had his eyes shut tight as though he was having a battle inside him.

His eyes flung open and I saw a flash of cerulean in the dull light from the fire. He squinted his eyes at me. It was a stare so full of hatred that I started regretting that I haven't simply kept on watching the fire flicker happily in the fireplace.

I was just about to open my mouth… just about to ask why does he hate me so much but then strings of silvery mist started to circulate at one spot and then the contours of a woman became clearer and clearer until the mist disappeared and in the middle of room stood emerald eyed Calla.

She walked towards Nick in that graceful motion that always made me feel so ponderous. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck with a big grin of satisfaction spreading over her face. He was leering at her. He looked at her as if he was about to turn into a kitten and give out a loud satisfied purr.

I wanted to swivel away so that the couple can have some privacy. Calla is my friend and I felt happy for her and a little jealous. My body seemed to have froze in place; I couldn't even twitch my littlest finger.

The couple started kissing passionately, not paying any attention to the fact that I was in the room, glancing at them.

I felt outraged that they didn't realise that I was in the room.

Out of sudden everything vanished from my sight into the wild spin around me. I was falling into the world of complete blackness…the world of inevitable blackness. The hole I was falling into seemed to have no end at the moment.

I was surprised when I reached the ground, landing with a loud thud.

I opened my eyes and I was lying on the floor, beside my bed. It was all just a dream… more of a nightmare than a dream but it still didn't happen in reality. I began to feel relief wash through my veins and body.

The only part of the dream that seemed to have been true was the fact that Calla, my friend has a relation ship with Nicolas, the boy who made me lose my consciousness.

I stood up from the hard, wooden floor, tossed myself carelessly back on to the bed and then rubbed my temples. I gave a quick glance at the silver watch on the wall. It was only five o'clock in the morning. I could feel that I won't be able to sleep for any longer. I wasn't tired and the storm of racing thoughts from yesterday made a buzzing sound inside my head. That certainly wasn't helping me to fall asleep.

It was a nonstop, dull and weighing down sound. The sort of sound that could make anyone go insane, but I wasn't going to let it take control of me.

I pulled out of the blankets, concentrating on repeating one intention in my head. I was practically shouting it over the buzz of my tangled thoughts.

I have to find a jogging suit and I have to do it now. Now! I ran towards the cupboard full of clothes. It didn't take long to find what I desired. I pulled off my sandy brown, lacy pyjama and quickly got dressed into a purple jogging suit.

I tiptoed downstairs, took a pen and a piece of paper off the mahogany kitchen table, and started scribbling a messy note.

_Don't worry about me. I just needed some fresh air. I went for a little jog. I'll be back at seven. Love, Kate._

I left the note on the table.

I was just about to open the door but I heard someone's steps coming from upstairs. I became as solid as a sculpture out of stone. I turned around to face Sarah.

I sighed in relief. If it was one of my parents they would tell me to go back to bed. Sarah wasn't like that- I could tell straight away that she approved to the idea of jogging at five o'clock. She was fully dressed in sports clothes. She beamed at me showing off her perfect teeth and I could see her wonderful aqua eyes sparkle with excitement. She made me think of a little kid being excited about Christmas.

"Going for a little run? Mind if I join?" She said playfully, grabbed the note that I left on the table and added a few sentences in her neat writing. She folded the note and stuck it on the fridge.

"Sure, I don't mind." I smiled back. I didn't know where I wanted to go and Sarah- as far a s I know her- knows spectacular places.

"I know a great place to jog. You'll love it!" She chirped cheerfully, got hold of my arm and pulled me out of the house- into the fresh air of the morning.

It was five o'clock. The Sun was a perfect shade of orange. It was just rising- it's fiery rays warming up anything that dares to stand on their path.

It was the warmest and the most pleasant morning that saw in my life. The kind of morning that made it easy for you to predict what the rest of day will be like.

'The rest of the day is going to be cheerful and exciting. Nothing bad will happen.' It seemed to whisper in a voice that sounded like bells.

The constant buzzing noise in my head seemed to have quietened down and now was just an unnoticeable background whisper. I haven't even started jogging but I felt better already. Pleased, I smiled to myself.

"Come on Kate! Follow me!" shouted Sarah who already was good ten metres ahead of me.

"I'm coming." I ran towards her as fast as my legs allowed me to.

"You seem so full of energy dear." Laughed lightly my aunt when she saw how fast I ran to catch up with her.

"Well…I guess so." I smiled cheerfully. It felt so good and refreshing to have the wind blow in my face, making my eyes produce tears. It also felt good to have wind play with my hair.

I normally hate for the wind to mess with my hair but whenever I run, it doesn't bother me. My heart rate was getting faster and my breathing deeper.

"I love running." I explained happily.

"Why?" She asked casually. She reminded me a little of a young kid that bombards others with millions of questions but most often with 'Why?'.

Even though asking 'Why?' to me sounded childish, I smiled to her and answered her question.

"Because it frees me from bad thoughts." I answered honestly.

"And what bad thought are you trying to escape from today?" concern was very clearly visible in her aqua eyes. I should have predicted that she would ask me this. She is too kind to not to be saddened that some bad thoughts are bothering me.

She is my only relative in Australia (except from my parents, my sister and Logan) and she wants me to be content in here. She wants me and my family to settle here easily. No wonder she wants to know what's bothering me; she probably thinks that it's something to do with Australia, and what else could it be about anyway?.

I will have to lie to her. Not that it's something I'll be proud of doing or something that will help me get some answers, but I'll have to.

On the other side I could tell her the truth. I could demand from her to tell me a reason behind everyone's reactions when her surname gets mentioned. Also, I could ask her things about Calla and Nick.

I need to make a quick decision.

"I just wonder why do people react strangely when someone mentions that I'm your niece?" There was something fierce in her eyes like she was ready to listen to any names I mention and pounce on those people furiously for giving my a hard thinking time… but I didn't mention any names.

"And how exactly do they react?" Suspicion mixed with anger was present not only in her eyes that didn't sparkle but also in the tone of her now hoarse voice.

I started regretting telling her the truth but if I wouldn't have, then I would get nowhere near any answers. Also, I have to finish what I already began.

"Well…" I hesitated, thinking of the right words.

"Well everyone gets suddenly quiet and starts gawking at me with those… unreadable expressions on their faces." What a sweet relief I felt when I saw smile paint over Sarah's face. She even laughed radiantly.

"Well it's all caused by my job. I'm well known and nobody messes with lawyers." She showed off her biceps muscles in a superman way when she said the last sentence. That made us both laugh.

Another question popped into my head.

"So people react like that because they fear of you?" I watched my aunt's face carefully for any sign of change, which didn't occur.

"I guess you can say so." She giggled.

"You wouldn't want to mess with anyone who's relatives are very nearly the most important people in the local area, right?" she asked, even though- I was sure- she knew the answer. I shook my head, she was right and I felt silly for troubling myself so much earlier on.

Especially, I felt ashamed of myself for not letting what she said ever run across my mind at any point all this time. We both widely grinned at each other and carried on jogging.

We jogged quietly for a while and I was still considering whether to ask Sarah another question. The one that will confirm whether Calla dos or does not go out with Nick. I couldn't make a decision so I concentrated on studying the surroundings.

The sweetest scent hung like a mist in the morning air. It was a honey-sweet scent of flowers. My head sunk unconsciously in the most adorable scent in the world. I nearly tripped over the sticking out of the ground roots because I was so absorbed by the scent.

There was a different kind of plant wherever I rested my eyes. The place was painted in all colours of the rainbow. It was like a dreamland or like a paradise.

There weren't many flowers that I recognised. In fact I only recognised Freesias, Orchids and bushes of Telopea which are also known as Waratahs. There also were full of majesty mighty trees, rising above the bushes and beautifully scented flowers. I didn't know what species did any of them belong to.

"Did you know that Waratah means beautiful?" My aunt asked as she followed my gaze. Her blonde hair was loose and tousled by the warm breeze from our running.

"No, but from now on I do." I grinned widely at her.

We jogged always to the same rhythm, making the leaves under our feet rustle. We were an addition to the music of this forest where birds sang, streams murmured softly and insects buzzed.

As I listened to the sounds of nature I made my mind up about asking Sarah another question.

"Do you know Calla Gravelle?" she looked up at me to show she was paying attention.

"Isn't she a daughter of Alistair Gravelle?" it sounded more as if she was asking herself rather than me.

"I think she is." I answered but I wasn't hundred percent sure.

"She has great parents." Sarah said out of the sudden. I looked up at her. Her eyes were out of focus as if she was trying to spot something invisible. What is she thinking about?

"Mr. Gravelle works for the local hospital for mentally ill people. He does a great job there by the way. His wife, Anjali doesn't work but I think she does a great as a housekeeper." Sarah informed me. I found everything very interesting to listen to. Every little information about the Gravelle family felt precious to me because I wanted to know more about them.

"Anjali looks after the house and children. Calla, your friend is her step-daughter and Nicolas is her son." That explained a lot.

"I think that Nicolas also goes to your school, have you met him by any chance?" Sarah chirped out, I gave her an affirming nod because I wasn't able to say a word.

The fact that that Nicolas might be just a relative to Calla never stumbled across my mind and now I felt quilt show up. It was the type of quilt people feel when they judge someone incorrectly.

"Do you come here often?" I pointed at the astonishing surroundings. Sarah grinned widely.

"Yes, It's my favourite jogging location… It's so peaceful and alluring. Don't you just think?" She answered in a dreamy voice that caused me to smile uncontrollably.

"Yes, it's really alluring indeed." I grinned and in return I gained a sight of Sarah's eyes sparkle from joy.

"Yes…indeed but unfortunately…it's time to go." Sarah said after checking the time on her golden watch. Her face fell slightly as if she didn't want to go back yet. If that really was what she felt then I felt exactly the same way. Why would anyone want to leave a place that in description is closer to a paradise than to anything else?

"Do we really have to?" I couldn't help wincing.

"Yes Kate." She whispered as if saying it quietly will make everything better.

"Ok then. Lets go." I sighed and then took one more big sniff of the sweetly scented air. I savoured every little bit of the fragrance, squinting my eyes with pleasure in the act of it. Sarah did the same.

"Come on Kate. It's quarter to seven. You got to go to school at eight and I bet that you would like to take a shower before you go out." She told me.

"Yeah, shower would be good." I chuckled. I was clammy with sweat. Little beads of perspiration hung to my forehead, I could feel them slowly slide down on the surface of my face until they reached my chin and dropped to the ground. Sarah passed me some tissue to wipe my face and then we started running towards home.

We ran in silence, breathing deeply and fast. We breathed in through our noses and out through our mouths because that is the correct way of breathing when exercising.

"How was school yesterday Kate?" I was surprised that Sarah asked me a question that I would have answered yesterday.

"I told you yesterday. School was great." I lied but I didn't make an eye contact.

"Then why did you come home early yesterday?" So she has realised. That's a bit of a slip-up. What on Earth am I going to say.

"I, um…was told to go home." I stammered. My lying skills were suddenly gone.

"Who by?" she raised her eyebrows, scanning my face as we ran. I pretended to clear my throat so that I could have at least few seconds to think. Too bad, I'll have to tell her everything, except from my opinion of why did I faint- that I'm going to keep to myself.

"By a nurse… Mrs. Dove I think." I answered and waited for more questions to come because I was sure that my aunt won't let go of this too soon.

"Why? What happened?" her aqua eyes winded form concern and surprise.

"I-I fainted." I murmured. Sarah's eyes winded even more as I told her the reason why I was sent home.

"Why did you!?" She exploded (only after taking in a few deep breaths).

"So did Angela get any Australia coming gifts?" I changed the subject suddenly- not wanting to talk about yesterday, also I didn't want to be favoured, so I had to check if my cute sister is getting anything which would seem as the only fair way. Sarah raised her eyebrows and then sighed.

"Yes, we gave her loads of toys and clothes which she is more than delighted with." Sarah smiled but her eyes still showed concern a curiosity.

"I-answered-your-question-now-you-should-answer-mine.-Why-did-you-faint?" She said slowly and calmly. Waiting a second after every single word before she said another. She looked deeply in to my eyes as if she was excepting to see something there.

"According to what I've been told by the nurse- I fainted because my brain didn't get enough oxygen." I told her and she seemed relieved.

"It's no big deal." I repeated the nurse's words which sounded like a plain lie to me. Sarah smirked and sped up from jogging speed into sprinting. I sped up too until I was at the same level of speed as her. She laughed beautifully and sped up even more. I wouldn't have believed that a person of her age could run so fast if I wouldn't have just seen it with my own eyes. I started running even faster and caught up with my auntie once again. We both laughed and kept the same speed for the rest of the way.

I stopped out of the sudden because I had something important to announce.

"Sarah!" I shouted for my aunt who didn't realise the emptiness by her side. She turned around quickly and sprinted like an arrow in my direction.

"Sarah, I just wonder if you could keep the fact that I fainted and that I came from school early yesterday to yourself?" I didn't have a slightest intention to worry anyone else and I didn't want my parents to have a panic attack.

"Can you do that for me? Please?" I asked. She nodded and then the corners of her mouth raised into a kind smile.

When we reached home everyone was already up and there was breakfast waiting on the table. The digital clock that stood proudly on the microwave was pointing out exactly seven o'clock.

"Wow. What has happened? My daughter has improved on punctuality." Teased my mum. I always was either too late or too early. The whole kitchen was laughing and I couldn't help but to laugh with them.

I was still sticky form sweat when I was eating my portion of fried eggs and fresh fruit. After I showed my gratefulness to my mother Marie for making the breakfast, I ran to my personal bathroom.

I looked at my reflection. My face was strawberry red after the amount of exercise I would have done this morning. My hair looked wild, out of place. It was tangled by wind into thousand knots. I took the hairbrush from the windowsill and started the fierce battle of untangling my hair. When I finished I took all my clothes off and stepped into the icy shower which felt soothing against my burning body.

**I beg! Review people! **


	6. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Two weeks of school passed. I've learned my way around the school buildings last Monday. Now I don't have to rely on Calla's kindness to walk me to our next lesson (it made me feel like I was a dog on a leash- I had to go everywhere where my friend did as if I was pulled by her). I just don't like to bother people and even though Calla assured me thousand times that she doesn't mind helping me out and that she understands that it's hard to find a way in a new place, I simply can't change my point of view about things.

In the two weeks time I had not only learned how to find classrooms in my new school but I had also stopped using my GPS to get to either mine or Angela's school. I simply learned the routes by heart. Now I can exactly remember every single turn and every single crossing and where every single lights come up on those routes.

I can't deny and so I won't that I'm extremely proud of myself for making a very fast progress. 'From confusion to precision.'- as I call it.

It was Sunday morning and it was raining. I was woken up by the annoying tapping sound on the roof and the windows that I hoped I would never in my life have to hear again. I simply had to groan. I started grumbling and complaining silently under my breath.

I cursed the rain about hundred times before I tightly shut my eyes and pulled the blanket over my head- trying to get at least five more minutes of precious sleep.

I fidgeted in the bed- trying to get as comfy as possible. I turned from one side to the other; no matter how I would have laid myself on the bed, I could not feel content so I had to turn once more and then again and again.

After about two more tries I gave up, sat up and sighed- listening to the constant dripping of the rain that after a while became deafening.

I did not have a clock to check what time it was because my sister, Angie would have smashed it one morning when the sound of alarm clock would have annoyed her. She got really done by my parents. To be honest I felt sorry for her. I myself find clock alarms not suitable for waking people up. People should be waken up in a delicate, subtle way; therefore I don't exactly blame Angela for killing my clock; in fact I'm quite glad she did because I didn't like that clock much anyway.

The only problem that bothers me with the lack of clock is that I have to guess what time is it and that can never be accurate.

I stood on the bed and pressed my face against the cold roof window to see where the sunshine was visible behind the clouds. The sun rays were cutting through the clouds just above the burgundy roofs of the houses on the opposite side of the road. I estimated the time to be about ten o'clock in the morning.

I sighed. I was tired. Yesterday I would have gone to sleep at two at night. That is because I was observing the golden stars with the brand new telescope my parents bought me yesterday. I always found space fascinating and mysterious. Something deep inside me pulled me towards the moon and stars. I love tracing shapes on the sky and making up my own constellations.

When I was little I used to have a telescope but I broke it. I've never owned another telescope until yesterday.

It was nice and warm last night. The sky was cloudless and the shinning stars stood out perfectly on the indigo backdrop.

I jumped off the bed on to the icy floorboards which squeaked as I landed on them. I slowly moved towards my cupboard and put on my old clothes because they were warmer than the ones I received as an Australia coming gift. After that I sluggishly went downstairs to make myself some breakfast. I've made two sandwiches with jam and a cup of steaming hot cocoa. I ate and drank reluctantly. When I eventually finished I washed the dishes, dried them with a soft cloth and then put them where they belonged to.

I was in half way back to my bedroom when I reminded myself about the need of knowing the time. I hurried back to kitchen and glanced at the bloody-red numbers on the digital clock. It was nine in the morning. The imagined clock in my head was one hour late- I realised. It wasn't a very big difference if compared to my previous comparisons of my estimated time to the real time. I was getting better at this every day.

I quitted the kitchen and dashed into my room which looked a far cry from the usual due to the change of weather. It wasn't as bright and cheerful now but dreary in every possible way. Generally the walls were painted my favourite colour- sky blue but today they seemed gray as if the colour was sucked out of them. Even the air seemed different. It wasn't as light and refreshing. If I was to describe it to someone I would say that it was mind-clouding.

I sat on the armchair, beside the desk, and spun around on it. Everyone was still asleep after a week that was filled with heaps of hard work. I craved to be able to fall asleep whilst it rained. I covered my mouth with my hand as I gave out a long and loud yawn.

A few minutes have passed and I started reminding myself of the past two weeks. I thought about the next day after I fainted. I get to know Calla better. For example I found out that her favourite colour is scarlet and that she and her family aren't from Australia but from America and that her ancestors were native American. I found out that she was just like me in many ways. We practically talked non-stop on breaks. Calla definitely is one of the kindest people I'd have met as far as I live.

On the same day few people introduced themselves to me. I don't remember their names because I was never particularly good at memorising anything especially if something did not interest me too much. It might sound unfair or nasty but if to think about I many people put what matters more to them in the first place.

The only thing I can remember is that five people introduced themselves at once. It was two girls and three boys but I can't describe what they looked like because through the two weeks time I never spoke to them again.

The rest of the week would have been fine if not the fact that every day there was at least one person less in our class. It worried me because of all the stares I gained (that if they could they would pierce me with their intensity and hatred). I was shot with stillest from the eyes of students walking past in the corridor since the first PE lesson. On PE boys and girls have PE together and on the first lesson couch Martin told us that we will be running fifteen hundred metres. (Couch Martin was certainly the nicest PE teacher I had. He is very lean and athletic. He has honey blond hair and pale skin as if he is an albino.)

I was send outside so that couch Martin could talk to the rest of the class. I have no idea what he had declared to them but when I came back in everyone except from Calla was giving me death stares. I wanted to fly out of the window just to get away from the pack of gazes that were fixated on me

.

I was trying to get away from the gawking people too vigorously and tripped over someone's foot when I was going back to my place. As I tripped my knee slid along a sticking out floorboard. When I stood up warm blood was tricking out of the small wound. The mood in the room changed into indescribable. Everyone was staring at the wound with the same expressions on their faces as my aunt when I hurt myself. Everyone looked as if hey were suddenly hungry and frustrated at the same time- if I read the expressions right which I hoped that I did not.

"Can someone take Miss Burney to the nurse to disinfect the injury and get a plaster?" Whispered coach Martin _just_ loud enough to be audible to the whole class.

"I can do it." Murmured Calla just as quietly (more to herself than to anyone else) then jumped up towards me and gripped my arm.

"Thanks Miss Gravelle." Answered the coach just before we vanished from everyone's sight.

In the nurse's office my knee was taken care of by Mrs. Dove. I didn't think that the plaster was necessary but she insisted to put on anyway.

So after that everyone begun to avoid me.( That is everyone except from the teachers, Calla and Nick.)

There was one thing that made me smile as I reminded myself of the first week of school. It was the day when Nick officially introduced himself to me. He even smiled (I realised that he rarely smiles) as he said hello. It was lunch time when that happened. (He always sits with me and Calla at lunch times, with headphones placed in his ears.) His voice was so beautiful as he spoke and so mind-boggling… simply unforgettable. It is hard not to think about it and his breathtaking cerulean eyes. Sometimes I catch myself craving for the sound of his ravishing voice.

Interesting things not only happened in the school but also in between my family. On the last Friday, for example, I was told that Sarah bought a new house for my parents.

Another thing is that there's more to it; not only has she bought a house for us but she will be our neighbour because she bought the house from the opposite side for herself.

'New house.' As I've been told. I like the sound of it and my imagination is simply exploding with ideas of how the 'new house' may look. The house has got possibilities. It can be small but very comfy or it can be big and beautiful and so on.

When I tried to insist on the grown-ups to tell me what is the 'new house' like, they would only smirk and tell me that I'll see in my own time. Of course Sarah came up with her 'You'll love it dear.', and whenever those words came out of her mouth, I was never disappointed so I imagined the 'new house' almost as a castle- obviously knowing that I was pushing my dreams too far. I laughed internally at all those thoughts.

"Kate! Kate!" I heard my mum yell, nearly on top of her lungs.

"Are you there Kate?" I rolled my eyes at the unnecessary concern in her voice.

"Yes mum. Do you want something from me?" I heard her respire deeply from relief. I rolled my eyes once more; I wondered where has she been thinking I was. I realised that she became more caring (if that was possible) since we came to Australia.

I was lost in thought for a few seconds but then I heard footsteps and a fraction of a second later, the door opened and in came my mother. She tucked her mid-neck long black hair, that was getting in her face, behind her ears.

"There you are love!" She sighed, making me roll my eyes in my thoughts.

"I don't want anything from you. I was just worried that you ran away or something." My eyes nearly popped out of their places as Marie, my mother said this. I was more than surprised to hear that my mum was expecting me to have a reason to run away.

"Why would you think that I would want to run away?" I asked quietly.

"Well, I don't know. People of your age do all sorts of different strange things." I laughed at her and she grinned widely.

"Mum I don't know whether anyone has told you, but you're very silly!" I exclaimed. Marie clicked her tongue and giggled, then she left me on my own in my room.

I had this idea going on in my head that nothing interesting will happen today so, as I always did when I had that feeling, I took "White Fang" off the shelf and started reading. I knew that I won't finish this book today because I started reading it too late but to be honest this book became my favourite. All the description in it is so realistic; it almost comes alive with every word I read. The wolf, White Fang, is such a strong character. Sometimes when I was younger I wished I had a wolf as a pet. I was always amazed by their beauty, wilderness and strong spirit.

The rainy morning quickly past and was followed by a lovely sunny afternoon. When I wasn't reading I was either eating or thinking abut the new house. At dinner time my parents announced that we will be moving in the next month. This obviously associated with helping my aunt and uncle to pack up. We were to start packing from Monday. Sarah went to town to hire some vans and to buy boxes and sticky-tape for packaging. The excitement could be clearly felt in the house. The most excited was my little sister Angie. She practically could not stay seated for more than five minutes and she kept on prating about how will her room look like and which room will it be and what will be the garden like and all those things that I quietly wondered about too.

It was nine o'clock in the evening and time to go to bed. I was positive that tomorrow something will happen. I couldn't guess if it will be a good or a bad thing but I simply knew that it will be _something_ memorable.

After taking a quick shower I went to bed, closed my eyes and was immediately lulled by the peaceful voices of the grown ups coming from downstairs.

The next morning I was waken up by my dad. I was quite surprised because usually it was either Sarah or Marie who did the waking up in the whole house.

"Time to go to school sweetie." My dad said in a sing-song voice grinning; he reminded me of my childhood, when I was only six years old because when I was little it was always him who was waking me up and he always said the same thing: 'Time to go to school sweetie.'

I yawned, stretched widely and grinning, pulled the covers over my head. The next thing that I knew was that the covers were gone and that I felt cold.

"Time to go to school sweetie." My dad chuckled and I playfully smacked him on the arm. We always got along well. I sometimes think that I gained most of the humour from him.

"Will you tell me about the new house?" I pleaded in a voice nearly as sweet as sugar.

"Yeah. It's amazing, you'll love it." He said this every time I tried to get some information out of him; it was very frustrating to hear the same thing over and over again.

"What if you're mistaken? Why can't I know? What if I don't..." He cut me off at midsentence with one loud 'Shhh'.

"Rule number one: dad is always right. Rule number two: if dad doesn't seem to be right, then see rule number one for help." A well known phrase of my conversations with dad. I rolled my eyes and then he playfully poked my ribs. I couldn't resist laughing and poking him back.

"Ok, that's enough. You got to get ready. Come on; don't make me drag you out of bed and wet you with ice cold water." At the words 'ice cold water' I technically flew out of the bed at the speed of light, straight to the bathroom. I could hear my dad chuckle loudly for a while; and then I could hear his heavy steps when he was going downstairs.

I hurried under the warm shower. I washed my hair with coconut shampoo that I loved so much. I have an obsession with coconut fragrance. Nearly all of my cosmetics smell of coconut; there are some exceptions because I have a cream that smell of chocolate and a moisturiser that smells of almonds.

After showering I blow dried my hair and dressed and packed for school; then I ate some breakfast which was a bowl of honey cereals with warm milk. I went upstairs one last time to brush my teeth and than, I patiently waited in my car for my sister Angie to come.

In the mean time, I was thinking about how to start a conversation with Nicolas- I was feeling awkward to have him sit on my table and say nothing. Sometimes I felt as if he wasn't listening to music but eavesdropping to my conversations with Calla; therefore, I have this idea weighing my mind that he probably knows more about me than I about him. I'll talk to him on a geography lesson, and if not, then I'll talk to him when he sits on my table on lunch.

I was dragged back on Earth as the passenger door clicked and opened wide, and in came Angie. She grinned and then she kissed me on the cheek.

"Are you ready to go then? Have you got everything you need?" I asked because she tends to forget her belongings.

"Yes. I've checked twice." She chirped in her childish, cute voice.

"Fine, but don't blame me when you realise that you are missing something because I _have_ asked." She rolled her eyes and then I stuck my tongue out at her; then, I turned the keys in the ignition and the engine silently purred to life.

On the way to school I switched the radio on and my sister started singing along with the song, I joined her but I was lip-singing because my singing skills are unbearable.

After 'byes' have been said, I kicked the gas peddle and speeded towards South Sydney High School.

I parked at my usual spot near the big sign. I was just opening the door, just setting my foot on the ground when I felt eyes of a stranger on me. I automatically looked around and saw _them_. It wasn't hard to spot them anyway. They were stood near the lamp-post on my left, six parking spaces away from me. They were all intensely observing me. It was a group of four people- two males and two females. All of them had skin as white as porcelain; that's why it was so easy to spot them. One of the women had charcoal hair and green eyes; except that her eyes weren't like Calla's warm emerald ones, but poison-green as eyes of a viper. She was shorter than me; as far as I could tell from the distance.

The other girl had ginger hair; the colour of roared up pieces of coal. Her eyes were raven black and filled to the edges with hatred. Both of the women had the looks of top supermodels.

The male part of the group was just as beautiful and just as full of bitterness. The two men looked like brothers. They had exactly the same tousled golden blonde hair and exactly the same ice blue eyes that were filled with the same amount of aversion. If not the height difference between them, I would say that they were twins.

I stared at the lot of them for a long time. (Only because I had that feeling that if I will take my eyes of them, they will jump past all the six parking spaces down to me and tear me apart limb by limb.) I could not bring myself to turn away.

I blinked. I gasped. I took them less than a blink to gather around me. I was surrounded by four faces of the strangers that were everything but friendly. How did they manage to get over here so quick?

"What is a little vulnerable _person_ like you doing here?" The woman with poison green eyes asked in cold voice that made my insides tremble in a warning sign- that the person talking to me is no one pleasant. The taller of the men grasped my hand but then he let go very quickly with a surprised look on his face.

"She is too cold to be human Jenifer." True, my hands always are inhumanly cold but so were my mum's when she was of my age. If I wasn't human then what else could I be- I thought sarcastically.

The woman who the taller man called Jenifer (she was the woman with eyes of a viper) loudly sniffed with her nose.

"Nonsense! Blood is flowing in her veins. I could smell it from there." I stood there not being able to move even though I knew that I should run as fast as possible away of these queer beings.

"W-what do you want from me?" I stammered.

"Oh nothing sweetie. We are just about to have a little snack." The girl with hair of colour of roared up pieces of coal giggled unpleasantly. I looked at them all, full of suspicion and unpleasant thoughts.

"Do you really have to have a snack all gathered around me?" I whispered faintly. I could feel my heart beat faster than wings of a hummingbird; my breathing became uneven. The group laughed in a sinister way and then, all four of them pounced at me. I was knocked down on to the ground.

There was a fight going on around me and I was the prize apparently.

One of the men( I didn't care which) grabbed my head and lifted me up. I took a big swing and punched him in the stomach as hard as I could…he didn't even flinch but I ended up with a broken arm. His skin was so hard…but I didn't give up; I punched him with my other hand… in vain. I ended up with a sharp pain of a sprained wrist.

Then I kicked but I ended up bruising my self. I could have had as well punched a mountain and I would have ended up with the same injuries. I heard laughter all around me. I could feel a cold shallow breath near the back of my neck. I could not tell what was happening. The breathing got closer, then something unexpected happened and I was on the sandy ground once more with my face hidden. There was no laughter but constant shouting and groaning from pain.

How long did I lay like that? I did not know, but when I eventually stuck my head up to look around, the fight was still going on but at some distance away from me. I tried to observe the person that in a way rescued me from something dreadful. I intensified my sight and saw Calla and Nick in the centre of the fighting bundle. I wanted to help them so much that it ached my heart to watch.

I was glad that they were doing extremely well. They were punching and kicking and giving headlocks but they did not get hurt, no matter how hard the punches they gave seemed to me from where I laid. I was amazed that the skin as hard as a diamond did not hurt my friends (well Calla was my friend but then Nick is neither a foe nor a friend but I prefer to call him my friend).

If I could only mange to drag myself to reception then I could call for help. I tried to stand up but the pain was stronger than my will. I somehow managed to crawl- with a great effort. I didn't go far when people started running from all directions. There was a tight crowd around me that shortly vanished to help Calla and Nicolas.

I closed my eyes- I did not want to see what was happening… I've seen too much already.

"Kate? Kate? Can you hear me?" I heard the most beautiful voice, that could belong to only one person, ask. I didn't answer or open my eyes because I wanted to hear the voice again.

"Kate?" Nick started shaking me anxiously.

"Yeah?" I finally answered weakly with my eyes opened wide. I looked at his handsome angular face and his spiky chestnut hair that were slightly messy now.

"Can you stand up?" He said but there was something about the tone of his voice that made me think that he doubted that I will say yes. However I tried to stand up anyway. He watched me struggle for a while then he shook his head and delicately picked me up as if I was lighter than a feather. It felt so right to be curled up in his arms. It was as if we were made to fit each other.

I took one last look around and saw the fight still in move. How much time has past since it all started? Should it not have finished by now? And why was Nick not as hurt as I was? I saw him punching and kicking and not breaking his bones. And what about my friend Calla? Is she okay?

"Nick?" I breathed softly. He looked straight into my eyes and nodded, waiting for what I wanted to say.

"Where are you taking me?" I questioned half out of curiosity and half out of the craving to hear the melody of his voice. It wasn't what I really wanted to ask but I reckoned that this was more important.

"To hospital." He simply answered.

"Is it far?" I asked. On one side I wanted it to be far; I didn't care for the pain as long as I'll get some time to be alone with him, but on the other side I wanted it to be close

"No." I was quite disappointed by the answer but the day was saved because this was the first time I saw his slightly lopsided and truly entrancing smile. I beamed back a little too enthusiastically but I couldn't help it.

**There it is! I hope you like it :D **


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